A MOTHER-OF-THREE who died in a York hotel had slipped and hit her head as she ran a bath, an inquest heard.

Susan Beedle, 62, was found in a bath of water at the Judges Lodgings, in Lendal, where she was staying while holidaying in the city.

An inquest in York heard how the retired processing worker, who lived in Hull, had been acting erratically shortly before her death.

Mrs Beedle, a widow with three sons, had suffered a stroke in 2001 and was later diagnosed with bipolar in 2011.

York coroner Donald Coverdale heard how her sons had said she had stopped taking medication and started to forget things before her York mini-break.

The hotel night porter, Joshua Hollingworth, said Mrs Beedle checked in on Thursday, January 26.

The last time staff saw her was on Saturday, at about 1am, when she left, saying she was going for a bike ride.

She returned about an hour and a half later.

Workers at the hotel went to check on her at about 11.30am after she had not checked out, and found her dead in the bath.

Dr Nicola Moore, consultant pathologist at York Hospital, said Mrs Beedle had slipped while running a bath and hit her head. It was likely she died almost instantly. Alcohol was not a factor.

She gave a cause of death as disarticulation of the skull base caused by a fall.

Mr Donald Coverdale returned a verdict of accidental death.